Author Interviews, Cannabis, JAMA / 25.11.2025
JAMA: University of Illinois Study Highlights Recents Trends in Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome
Editor’ note: Cannabis and THCA/HEMP CBD products should have an active ingredient list on the container and have a Certificate of Analysis (COA). Discuss your use of THC, Cannabis or CBD products with your health care provider. Dosing of CBD is variable, especially since it is not FDA regulated. Cannabis/CBD may interfere with other medications and should not be used in individuals with certain health conditions, including liver issues. CBD skin care products can be absorbed through the skin and have similar effects. Do not use Cannabis products including edibles and CBD if you are pregnant, nursing or may become pregnant. Do not use cannabis products if driving or operating difficult or dangerous machinery. Children should not be exposed to cannabis or CBD products.
[caption id="attachment_71501" align="alignleft" width="157"] Dr. Swartz[/caption]
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
James A. Swartz, PhD
Professor, Jane Addams College of Social Work
University of Illinois Chicago
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: For the past 5 1/2 years, my project team has been charged with monitoring the public health effects of adult cannabis use legalization in Illinois. To fulfill that obligation, we have monitored state data and have tried to keep informed about ongoing research on cannabis legalization and public health. Cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome (CHS) rose to the surface of this continual monitoring through a growing number of publications indicating the prevalence of this condition was on the rise and clinical case reports. As context, for any readers unfamiliar with the clinical syndrome, CHS is a paradoxical reaction to long-term, heavy cannabis use. Instead of relieving nausea, cannabis in some people appears to trigger cycles of severe nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. Patients often present repeatedly to emergency departments, undergo extensive workups, and only much later does someone connect the dots and consider CHS. Resource use is substantial. CHS visits often involve repeat ED presentations, imaging, laboratory testing, and sometimes hospital admission. Even though CHS is rarely life-threatening, it is not a trivial condition from either the patient’s or the system’s perspective.
Dr. Swartz[/caption]
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
James A. Swartz, PhD
Professor, Jane Addams College of Social Work
University of Illinois Chicago
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: For the past 5 1/2 years, my project team has been charged with monitoring the public health effects of adult cannabis use legalization in Illinois. To fulfill that obligation, we have monitored state data and have tried to keep informed about ongoing research on cannabis legalization and public health. Cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome (CHS) rose to the surface of this continual monitoring through a growing number of publications indicating the prevalence of this condition was on the rise and clinical case reports. As context, for any readers unfamiliar with the clinical syndrome, CHS is a paradoxical reaction to long-term, heavy cannabis use. Instead of relieving nausea, cannabis in some people appears to trigger cycles of severe nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. Patients often present repeatedly to emergency departments, undergo extensive workups, and only much later does someone connect the dots and consider CHS. Resource use is substantial. CHS visits often involve repeat ED presentations, imaging, laboratory testing, and sometimes hospital admission. Even though CHS is rarely life-threatening, it is not a trivial condition from either the patient’s or the system’s perspective.
Most of the existing literature has been case reports, small series, or single-center studies. Those reports clearly show that CHS can be debilitating and is frequently misdiagnosed, but they don’t tell us much about the bigger picture:
- How often Cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome is showing up in emergency departments nationally
- How those rates have changed over time, especially as cannabis policies and patterns of use have shifted
- What the typical patient profile looks like at a population level
Our goal was to step back and use a large national emergency department database to describe CHS at scale in the United States from 2016 through 2022.
Dr. Ådén[/caption]
Ulrika Ådén PhD
Professor of Neonatology
Department of Women's and
Children's Health Karolinska
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Children born preterm are at higher risk of cognitive impairment during childhood and later in life. However, an important unresolved question is whether these impairments primarily reflect genetic susceptibility or are driven by the biological consequences of being born too early. Cognitive development is known to have a strong heritable component (~70 %), and previous studies have attempted to disentangle genetic and environmental contributions, for example through sibling comparison designs. Although informative, such approaches have inherent limitations.
In this study, we aimed to investigate long-term cognitive outcomes across a range of gestational age groups including very preterm, moderately preterm, late preterm, and early term, compared to children born full term. Importantly, we accounted for genetic influences as well as a range of potential confounding factors, including prenatal risks and child-specific factors. This approach provides a more nuanced understanding of the extent to which cognitive outcomes associated with preterm birth reflect biological versus inherited risk.
Dr. Di Ciano[/caption]
Patricia Di Ciano, PhD
Dr. Lu Qi[/caption]
Lu Qi, MD, PhD, FAHA
Interim Chair, Department of Epidemiolog
HCA Regents Distinguished Chair and Professor
Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine
Director, Tulane University Obesity Research Center
Director, Tulane Personalized Health Institute
New Orleans, LA 70112
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Adding salt to foods is a behavior reflecting long-term preference to salty diets. High sodium intake is a major risk factor for chronic kidney disease.
In our previous studies, we have found that adding salt to foods at the table is related to various disorders including cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and mortality. 
Prof. Guohua Li[/caption]
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Guohua Li, MD, DrPH
Finster Professor of Epidemiology and Anesthesiology
Columbia University Irving Medical Center
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? How was the ADHD diagnosis determined?
Response: The reported prevalence of ADHD in children and young adults in the United States has more than doubled since the 1990s because of improved diagnosis. Currently, ADHD affects about 13 percent of children under 18 years of age and eight percent of adults under 45 years of age. Little is known about the prevalence of ADHD in older adults although it is estimated that ADHD symptoms may persist throughout the lifespan in about one-third of children diagnosed with the disorder. Diagnostic criteria for adulthood ADHD include having five or more relevant symptoms, adverse impact on social, academic, and occupational activities, and onset of symptoms before age 12.
In this study, ADHD status is determined based on an affirmative response to the question of whether the participant had ever had ADHD or had ever been told by a doctor or other health professional that he or she had ADHD.
Dr. Wright[/caption]
Jason D. Wright, MD, FACOG, FACS
Sol Goldman Associate Professor
Chief, Division of Gynecologic Oncology
Vice Chair of Academic Affairs, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons
New York, New York 10032
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: There is growing recognition that gender-affirming surgery (GAS) is safe and that the procedures are associated with favorable long term outcomes. Prior work has explored the use of inpatient procedures and shown that the rates of GAS have risen, but there is little contemporaneous data to examine more recent inpatient and outpatient use of GAS. This is particularly important as changes in insurance regulations may have increased access for these procedures. We examined temporal trends in performance of inpatient and outpatient GAS and examined age-specific trends in the types of procedures performed over time.
Dr. Li Li[/caption]
Li Li, M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H
Walter M. Seward Professor
Chair of Family Medicine
Director of population health
University of Virginia School of Medicine
Editor-in-chief of The BMJ Family Medicine
Dr. Li joined the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force in January 2021
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: The Task Force reviewed the latest available evidence to evaluate whether screening all children and adolescents who are 20 years old or younger for high cholesterol improves their heart health into adulthood.
At this time, there is not enough evidence to determine whether or not screening all kids is beneficial, so we are calling for additional research on the effectiveness of screening and treatment of high cholesterol in kids and teens.
Dr. Fink[/caption]
Dorothy A. Fink, MD
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Women's Health
Director, Office on Women's Health
US Department of Health & Human Services
Rockville, MD
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Delivery-related mortality in U.S. hospitals has decreased for all racial and ethnic groups, age groups, and modes of delivery while the prevalence of severe maternal mortality (SMM) increased for all patients, with higher rates for racial and ethnic minority patients of any age.
This study specifically looked at inpatient delivery-related outcomes and found a 57% decrease from 2008-2021. The decreasing mortality rates within the inpatient delivery setting demonstrated as statistically significant and a welcome finding for all women.
This study also looked with greater granularity at the impact of race, ethnicity, and age. Mortality for American Indian women decreased 92%, Asian women decreased 73%, Black women decreased 76%, Hispanic women decreased 60%, Pacific Islander women decreased 79%, and White women decreased 40% during the study period.
Dr. Mahdavi[/caption]
Dr. Sara Mahdavi, PhD
Clinical Scientist and Clinical Instructor
Research Appointment in the Faculty of Medicine
University of Toronto
Toronto, ON
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: This was a long-term study spanning 16 years and began with a population of young adults who were medically assessed on a regular basis. It was remarkable to see just how striking the effects of coffee were in the group that had the susceptible genetic variant, what we termed “slow caffeine metabolizers” yet no effect whatsoever in those who did not were termed “fast metabolizers”.
Dr. Wong[/caption]
Mitchell Wong, MD PhD
Professor of Medicine
Executive Vice Chair for Research Training
Department of Medicine
Executive Co-Director, Specialty Training and Advanced Research (STAR) Program
Director, UCLA CTSI KL2 Program
UCLA Division of General Internal Medicine and Health Services Research Los Angeles, CA 90024
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: It is estimated that social factors like poverty, education, and housing have a large impact on health. Yet, there are few interventions that exist to directly address those issues. Schools are a promising solution since society already invests heavily in education and schools are an everyday part of most children’s lives.
Dr. Orkaby[/caption]
Ariela Orkaby, MD, MPH
Geriatrics & Preventive Cardiology
Associate Epidemiologist
Division of Aging, Brigham and Women's Hospital
Assistant Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: As the population is living longer, there is increased risk of frailty and vulnerability. Frailty is defined as reduced physiological reserve and decreased ability to cope with even an acute stress. Up to half of adults over the age of 85 are living with frailty and preventative measures are greatly needed. We tested the effect of vitamin D and marine omega-3 fatty acid supplementation on the risk of developing frailty in healthy older adults in the US enrolled in the VITamin D and OmegA-3 TriaL (VITAL) trial.
Dr. Jing Li[/caption]
Jing Li, PhD
Assistant Professor of Health Economics
The Comparative Health Outcomes, Policy and Economics (CHOICE) Institute
University of Washington School of Pharmacy
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Dementia and other cognitive impairment are highly prevalent among older adults in the U.S. and globally, and have been linked to deficiencies in decision-making, especially financial decision-making. However, little is known about the extent to which older adults with cognitive impairment manage their own finances and the characteristics of the assets they manage.
Dr. Rowe[/caption]
Susannah G. Rowe, MD, MPH
Office of Equity, Vitality and Inclusion
Boston University Medical Group
Boston Medical Center
Boston University School of Medicine
Boston, Massachusetts
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: We wanted to learn how frequently mistreatment occurs for clinicians at work and how it impacts their occupational well-being. We began to see more anecdotal reports of workplace mistreatment of clinicians even before the pandemic. In the extraordinarily stressful environment we are currently experiencing, with people feeling exhausted and emotionally threadbare on some level, the problem appears to be growing.
We also predicted that the burden of mistreatment would not borne be equally. It has often been said that we are all in the same storm but in different boats – some of us are riding out the storm in comfortable ocean liners, while others are paddling in canoes without life jackets. What we are learning, though, is that we are not in fact experiencing the same storm. For example, the increasing intolerance and erosion of public civility we have seen in recent years might show up as minor annoyances for some of us, and actual threats of violence for others depending in large part on our gender and racialized identities. Our relationship to privilege and oppression affects our experiences, creating protections or additional burdens, so when studying clinician occupational well-being, it seemed important to consider how these disparities play out in the workplace.